Wild 野 Thing

“Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted…now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild and free.” Aldo Leopold.

I went on a 9day Safari trip in June that started in Zimbabwe and traveled down to Botswana and eventually to South Africa. Little would I know that spotting animals in their natural habitat could be one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever had. I was like a child again. My eyes wild opened, I gasped, grinned, and my heart fluttered like butterfly wings. Watching them at their natural habitat made me realized that being wild was as natural as our breath when we are in our elements.

The nonchalant stillness that pierced through the eyes of the animals and their graceful body language commanded my undivided attention. Every step they made or every rest they took transcended time and space. The dignity and nobility that they exuded was breathtaking and moving. Their natural and utterly surety of being was just W I L D! True Wild cannot be conjured or contrived. It is natural, noble and wondrously magical.

Watching Impalas, Kudus, Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Lions, Leopards, Rhinos, Buffalos, Hyenas, Warthogs, Hippos, Jackal, Wildebeests, Crocodiles, Grysboks, and Baboons live in their natural habitat made what I have learned about them from the Zoo, magazines and documentaries seem so inadequate. These animals know earth and the elemental the way we human would never know. They are the wisdom keepers.

Being wild has always been my most cherished state of being. Last year, I co-founded A Wild Life Sanctuary™ (AWLS) with Jurian Hughes to create programs to “re-wild” by remembering and reclaiming the playful, spontaneous and untamed parts of us. We both are passionate to help others to express fully their authentic self or in other words their “Wild” self. This trip has inspired many new “re-wild” inquiries. I’m looking forward to bringing these questions to Omega where I’ll be leading two AWLS programs with Jurian in August.